More than 800 secrecy laws keeping Australian government information from the public, paper shows

The discussion paper is part of attorney general Mark Dreyfus’s commitment to review the appropriateness of Australia’s secrecy provisions across every commonwealth portfolio. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Australia has more than 800 separate secrecy and non-disclosure laws criminalising the release of vast swathes of information held by the federal government, according to a new government paper.

The sheer volume and complexity of secrecy restrictions covering government information is revealed in the discussion paper, which is designed to inform Labor’s push for reforms.